pnp1
今天终于摸到*istDS样机.......这是一点初步体会：
首先感谢梦MM从PENTAX老家带来今天的主角*istds+ DA 18-55，也感谢无忌资深P家LUNATIC带来*istd + FA 43/1.9 + M50/2。
大家最关心的，对手动头的支持情况，结果是：特大利好！----与固件升级过后的*istd一样，*istds使用不带A档光圈，没有电子触点的手动镜头（K,M系列镜头）时可以测光，虽然没有传递光圈环档位的耦合杆，但是按下AE-L钮，相机会收缩一下光圈，用实际光圈测光，并锁定快门在测光结果上，于是就获得正确的曝光----AE-L钮起到了*istd的绿色按钮的作用。
其次，我比较关心的，快门声音，没有MZ-S,*istd好听，快门声音中动人的磁性味道和金属光泽没有了，变得比较生硬，但是还是强于D70，没有那么干涩。
更多的好消息：
选择2秒自拍即可获得反光板预升功能。
虽然是塑料外壳，但是手感不错，手柄比突出，凹槽也比较明显，握持起来比*istd更轻松。
有hype M模式，也就是在M档的时候，如果光圈快门偏离正常曝光太多，只需要按一下AE-L钮，就会立刻获得一个曝光正确的光圈快门设定。
可以在机身上设定闪光补偿，这是近些年来PENTAX机身上都未曾出现过的，原先一直需要在外置闪光灯上设定。
说完好消息再说坏消息：
P档不可以偏移，P档下，拨动机背法轮，没有任何反应。
没有找到wireless TTL flash。360灯的功能不能充分发挥。（梦MM，找PENTAX要来说明书看看？）
切换测光模式比较麻烦，需要进入菜单。大约要按按钮5~7下。
写卡速度是不是很突出，即使删除一张照片也会有能够察觉的等待，连拍五六张后等待写卡的时间也不算短，估计有10秒多，没有很精确测量。
另外，选择点测或中央重点测光时，右肩的LED屏上会有相应符号显示，但是分区测光却不会显示，既然已经有了显示测光方式的位置，为什么两个显示出来，另一个不显示出来，有些不合情理。
另外，直方图有点太亮了，在回放照片时如果显示直方图，直方图下面的画面基本看不见，如果把直方图以半透明方式显示，会更好一些。
还有一点不爽的是，查看ISO需要按下INFO钮，如果可以在更多的地方增加ISO显示，会减少用错ISO造成失误。比如，现在拨动模式转盘时会出现一个解释画面，如果在这个画面中加入ISO显示，应该是不难的。开机时，显示一下ISO值，也是技术上不难做到，而又可以给用家带来很大便利的。
最后，机底看不到任何为手柄预留的电子触点，想要竖拍手柄的朋友，就S心了吧，毕竟，有了点测，有了反光板预升，还能支持很老很老很老的手动头测光，*istds已经蛮厚道了。
样机固件版本是 Ver 0.31。
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下面是Lunatic的体会内容，写得比我的更详细。由于他同时也泡国外的论坛，所以是用e文写的。
I just came back from a local gathering of photographic friends and the main propose for me was to closely examine a pre-production *ist DS that was borrowed from Pentax Japan and brought back from Tokyo to Beijing for a short stay. The following will be my initial thoughts after handling the camera along with its DA 18-55 kit lens. Please remember that this is a pre-production unit (it has a sticker that says "Working Sample" on the bottom) and the firmware of the body is 0.31. I read elsewhere that the firmware version of the Photokina sample was around 0.20. Recent official sample pictures posted on Pentax Japan Web site have version 1.00 in them. As an owner of the *ist D for more than a year, I brought my *ist D along and will provide some hands-on comparisons of the two.
First of all, the body material and finish feels the same as the *ist D. The hand grip is deeper and I get a firmer hold compared with the *ist D. Unfortunately no battery grip can be attached as there are no electronics contacts at the bottom of the *ist DS.
The viewfinder looks as large and as bright and there's no problem with manual focusing. The viewfinder display layout is completely different with no vertical scale on the right side. When using exposure compensation there is a digital display at the lower side (e.g. +1.0). Still no ISO display in viewfinder although it adds an "MF" sign when I switch to manual focus.
The 2-inch LCD on the back is a big step forward from the one on the *ist D thanks to a much higher resolution (more pixels). Reviewing is a pleasure and images appear much sharper on the *ist DS. A nice plus: When you turn the camera on or change modes, the back LCD will temporarily displays the current exposure mode, single or continues shooting, etc. but the information does not include current ISO setting. This could be added in firmware easily. The *ist DS now supports histogram display during instant review mode but there's one drawback here. In instant review, the histogram chart is positioned higher on the screen because there's a delete sign below it. This causes the histogram to block most of the center of the review image, preventing the user from seeing the subject clearly. Either move the chart back down or add some transparency to it will be great.
Now let's talk about a missing Hyper mode and a "hidden" Hyper mode in the *ist DS. The missing mode is Hyper program. When using P mode, you will not be able to shift the exposure combination by using the thumb dial. I guess I'd use Av mode more often if I owned this camera. The "hidden" mode is Hyper manual. While there's no Green Button on the *ist DS, in M mode you can press AE-L and the camera will set the shutter/aperture to the correct value as a starting point for you.
And now the GREAT NEWS: I brought my 20-year-old M 50/2 lens tonight and tried it on the *ist DS. After enabling a custom function to allow shutter release on aperture values other than A, I was able to shoot with the M lens. What about metering? You may already have guessed the answer: Press the magic AE-L button and the camera will do stop-down metering for you and then return to full-open. In other words, in M mode the AE-L button on the *ist DS acts like the green button on the *ist D (firmware 1.10 or higher) and allows metering with older non-A lenses.
With the *ist DS, flash exposure compensation control is now back in the body instead of on the flash. I tried my AF360FGZ on the *ist DS and the compensation setting in the body menu clearly worked. I wasn't able to switch the flash mode to wireless P-TTL on the *ist DS because it's not present in the flash mode menu at all. However, in Phil's preview "Wireless sync" is listed. I guess that this feature had not been implemented in version 0.31 yet.
Compared with the *ist D, the shutter noise/mirror slap noise is slightly higher pitched. I was able to feel that the mirros slap on the *ist DS is heavier and probably causes slightly higher vibration. Remember this is a pre-production unit and a production model might improve in this area. The good news is that Pentax kept the 2-sec self-timer with mirror lock-up.
I only had a 64MB SD card that I borrowed so I was only able to take a few full-size JPEG shots and one RAW image indoors. The RAW file is around 10MB but neither Pentax Photo Lab 1.1 nor C1 3.5.2 could open it. I guess right now only Photo Lab 2.0 can handle it. It's not fair to talk about image quality with firmware 0.31 installed but I'll try to post a couple of images tomorrow morning. From my initial observation, the *ist DS has higher in-camera sharpening than the *ist D and its metering system seems to be very accurate under complicated lighting conditions (inside a restaurant).
The DA 18-55 lens has similar build quality to the DA 16-45 and it's a lot more compact. It fits the *ist DS perfectly and the balance is great. I wasn't able to do any extensive testing with its image quality due to the lighting conditions at the time. I tried to observe how the variable maximum aperture work with this lens. While it's f/3.5 at 18mm, it quickly becomes f/4.0 once I get past around 20mm and becomes f/5.6 before it reaches 55mm. I still prefer the 16-45's constant f/4 but at a price of around or less than US$200 the 18-55 could be a good value.
Regarding basic operations (startup, shutter lag, etc.), I did not notice any differences compared with the *ist D. I didn't measure startup time but it's at least as fast, if not faster. AF speed seemed quite similar and both cameras had no trouble focusing inside the restaurant although I still think the SAFOX VIII system is not as good as the MZ-S (SAFOX VII) in low light conditions. In general, the *ist DS is a pleasure to operate and does not have any "cheap" feelings at all. As an owner of the *ist D, I am glad to report that the four-way controller on the *ist DS is a huge improvement. The OK button is now separate from the outer four-way switch and everything feels very responsive. Some tasks such as changing metering mode requires going through the menu and thus takes longer to accomplish. I guess this is where the *ist DS feels like an entry-level camera.
When you throw in the pricing, I have a strong feeling that Pentax has a winner here. Going down in price from the *ist D to the DS, Pentax did not get rid of any important features (the ones I miss most is Hyper Program and an option for a battery/vertical shooting grip) and instead keep the great viewfinder, same body chassis material, same metering and AF system and same compatibility with older non-A type lenses. From my limited use, I feel that the *ist DS doesn't have the tendency to underexpose (especially when used with the AF360FGZ flash) so Pentax might have improved the metering algorithm. I hope a future firmware update for the *ist D can provide similar improvements to the existing users.